Moe Flannery of the California Academy of Sciences told NBC Bay Area that scientists who performed a partial necropsy, starting at 4 p.m. Sunday, stumbled upon "hemorrhaging" muscles and "disarticulated" bones.

A statement by the Marine Mammal Center added that the damage was located on the whale's left side, below its pectoral flipper.

"This type of trauma is consistent with blunt force trauma and may be associated with a vessel collision but scientists are not making a final determination until more experts can look at the information obtained by the necropsy team," the statement continued.

The dead whale is the third to wash ashore in Pacifica since April. A 48-foot male sperm whale was discovered on April 14 and a 42-foot adult female humpback was found on May 5.

Necropsies on both those whales were inconclusive, though scientists found evidence the other humpback also died from injuries suffered in a ship strike, according to the Marine Mammal Center.

In June, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration advised ships moving through shipping lanes near the Bay Area to slow down to avoid striking endangered blue, humpback and fin whales that had been spotted foraging in the area, according to the center.

"By examining marine mammals that wash up on our shores, we are able to learn more about how we can prevent future deaths," Dr. Shawn Johnson, Director of Veterinary Science at the Marine Mammal Center, said in the statement. "Even in the case of an animal that is starting to decompose, we may be able to document human impacts such as ship strikes that could help influence changes in shipping lanes."